Well, Governor Richardson did at least one thing right in my opinion. No pardon for Billy the Kid…. The Kid was a murderous rascal and I don’t think his atitude ever changed, at least no indication of it.  He certainly did not deserve  a pardon. Had Lew Wallace pardoned him, I think he would have been back behind bars within a very short time. So, you leave the governor’s office on a positive note, Bill….I don’t know if Susanna will give us as much to write about as you have…..Stay in touch…you might try California….or Maine….

Governor Richardson is looking into giving a pardon to Billy the Kid. During the term of NM Territorial Governor Lew Wallace he apparently promised a pardon to Billy in return for his testifying in a murder trial against three men. The Kid wrote Wallace three letters in 1879 volunteering to testify in the murder case if Wallace would annul pending charges against him. It is said that Wallace responded that he had the authority to exempt him from prosecution if he would testify to what he knew in the case. It is said the Kid kept his bargain but Wallace did not.  Wallace did pardon other people in the Lincoln County War. Of course, he did escape while waiting trial for the murder of a man by the name of Brady. During the escape, The Kid killed two deputies, but the pardon does not cover those killings…..Gov. Bill says, maybe yes, maybe no…he is still trying to decide to pardon The Kid or not….Our new Governor, Susana Martinez, says she will not waste her time on such matters……I, for one, am glad this is keeping Gov. Bill busy, at least he is not spending millions or investing state money on some other schemes or such…..Billy the Kid is still a murderer, right? So what’s the point, Governor Richardson?….. But on the other hand, keep thinking about it and leave the running of New Mexico to the incoming Gov. Susana…..

We have plenty of nuts in New Mexico, but then you guys probably already knew that.  For those of you who do not know:

1. Pecans….The state of New Mexico looks like it will be no. 1 in pecan production this year…In the past, Georgia has been no. 1 but it looks like we might surpass them this year if what I read is correct. In the southern part of our state you find many large pecan orchards…I think Las Cruces may be the biggest producer. The 2009 crop was valued at 120 million dollars per AAA/New Mexico. Jan/Feb 2011 issue…

2. Peanuts….Portales has the soil and climate conducive to good peanut production. There is at least one peanut butter plant there and maybe a couple of candy plants close by. Anyway, we buy peanut butter and peanut patties every time we go to Portales. I think we are second to Georgia in peanut production, but we produce a bunch (no pun intended).  AAA of New Mexico in its Jan/Feb issue reports that it takes 540 peanuts to make a 12 ounce jar of peanut butter. Who’s counting?

3. Pistachios….Between Alamogordo and Tularosa there are two huge pistachio farms that are doing quite well. This is the newest nut to New Mexico, native to Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, it has adapted well to our hot, dry climate, cold winters and low humidity. They say Pistachios are not a true nut, but a fruit seed. The fruit is a bitter red and yellow fruit that is discarded and used as mulch for the orchard.  On Highway 54, between Alamogordo and Tularosa, you can sample the ice cream, candy, cookies and wine made from the Pistachios…

4. Pinon….from New Mexico’s state tree cones…They mature every four to seven years, officially nuts from the Pinus edulis pine species are the only nuts that can be called New Mexico pinon nuts. This nut was a food staple for the Southwest American Indians for centuries. Today, Navajo gatherers and vendors sell these nuts along side the roadways of New Mexico. Some local folks gather their own. If you are interested in buying some you may want to contact, David Cuneo, owner of New Mexico Pinon Nut Company at their website,  pinonnuts.com,  for price and availability. He states in the AAA issue of Jan/Feb, 2011 that the pinon nut was the most expensive nut in the world. At the time he made that statement the going rate was 26.00 per pound.

5. Pete….Human nut who loves to eat the above nuts….and more than his share….

So, there you have five of the nuts that you can find in New Mexico……

I wish I knew you guys that visit the web site and what items you  read while visiting and what you thought about what you did read. The month of December has been far beyond anything experienced at this site before. Many of you come back to visit  so you must find something you like. But, its ok if you don’t comment, I just appreciate your coming by…..This month, December, 2010, 3289 visitors have come by reading 20,646 pages with 30,833 hits….Some of you came in for very quick visits and others of you lingered for a time….I’m glad you did, in fact, honored that you did….I am a home spun story teller and not a seasoned writer…By that I mean, I have not been a newspaper or tv reporter or editor with years of training behind me, and most of those guys expect to be heard and read…. I just enjoy writing….So I am especially happy when someone reads me….Know what I mean….But what ever your reason for coming by to visit, once again I say Thank You!!!!!! I hope  you will mark this site as a favorite and I promise to keep new posting available…Pete Hester

A special Merry Christmas to all of you serving in our military….Especially to those of you overseas….I get a lot of readers from other countries and I often wonder if it is Americans serving in those countries or citizens of those countries….If you are in the Military a big thank you and Merry Christmas and I hope you can have a peaceful day, one where you can feel the peace and tranquility that only Jesus can provide. We pray for your safety daily and for your safe return to your homeland. And if you are a citizen of another country reading my web site for the first time or a return visitor, I want you to know that I appreciate you coming by and I also wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and pray for God’s blessings on each of you…..Merry Christmas to all…..Pete

We all know and love Luke’s telling of the Christmas story, Luke, Chapter Two, verse 11, “Behold, for born unto you this day in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”  In the Book of John he says, Chapter One, verse 14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Powerful words announcing Our Savior arrival. However we tell the story, all Christians celebrate His coming by gathering together, gift giving, loving one another, breaking bread and a time of fellowship. I hope you and your family will be able to share the season, hopefully all together.

 From the Hester Family, we would like to  wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

1, Snow stuff:  Man the past few days has brought New Mexico and Colorado some good snow for you skiers. Angel Fire, NM 20 inches, Durango, Co 49 – 53 inches, Red River 16 – 25 inches, Sandia (Albuquerque) 20 – 28 inches, Santa Fe 20 – 30 inches, Ski Apache (Ruidoso) 17 – 19 inches, Taos, NM 22 – 27 inches,Telluride, Co 43 inches and listen to this Wolf Creek, Co 77 – 79 inches…All those ski areas are close enough to Albuquerque that you can fly in here and rent a car for the last leg of your journey….come see us

2. Bird Stuff: Well, the little rascals can’t hide from our high tech counters…At Bosque Del Apache we now have 69,246 ducks, 455 Canada geese, 30,785 light geese, 6862 Sandhill crane, 4 Golden Bald Eagles, 0 swan’s a’swimming, 1303 American coot, 4 Shorebirds and 44 Hawks and owls (and that is probably why the shorebirds are not hanging around.)

3. Dumb stuff: The folks that live down around the railroad are bitching because the train is blowing it horn at the crossings during sleeping hours. And they want that changed. Well, folks, the railroad was there long before you were and it is a safety issue if they don’t blow the train whistle, so unless the crossings have a bar that can be lowered to stop traffic, I am not sure you have a valid complaint. Houses have built up around the tracks and around the air port and they were there before you bought or built. Maybe the noise can be toned down somewhat and if so, good…If not, you knew they were there going in…..

4. Ice Fishing: Ice is now forming on the northern lakes, but not enough to allow for ice fishing…I think some of the experts say you need something like 9 inches to support the ice fisherman….well, you need a lot more than that for me. Matter of fact, I ain’t gettin’ out on that crap…now you fish all you want, but I want solid earth under my feet when I am fishing or a good solid boat….Last year they were saying nine inches or more to take your pick up truck out on the ice,  un-huh, now that is crazy…..(this could also be filed under the dumb stuff item, if you ask me.)

5. Pecan crop: This year farmers are expecting to get 3.00 per pound for their pecans, in the shell. New Mexico farmers produce about 56 million pounds per year. Now that is pretty good, huh? Did you know that there is no pecans north of I-40 in the state of New Mexico? Las Cruces, Carlsbad, Artesia…all those places down is southern New Mexico enjoy pecans. I had 5 trees in my yard when I lived in Carlsbad. I could get about 75 pounds per tree a lot of years but the highest price I ever got selling them was 82 cents per pound. Anyway, I am glad our pecan farmers are having such a good year. I have heard that New Mexico may out produce Georgia this year,……. well, that’s what I hear…..

6. Political stuff: Say what you will about President Obama, but he is sure trying to work across the aisle. And I for one would like to see our politicians do what is best for America for once and not what is best for their party…Amen?

That’s about all the stuff I can think of for right now…I will write some Christmas stuff tomorrow, Baby Jesus and our greatest gift and other stuff…..thanks, Pete

Wow, did you read about our governor over in North Korea? Sounds like he may have done some good and eased things up a bit.  He is a good negotiator. I was wondering…..Reckon he could stop by New York on the way back and see if he can negotiate some of New Mexico’s money back from the investors (or crooks) he used who bilked us out of several million investment dollars? New York got some of their money back from these same rascals…..Come on, Gov, give it a shot, how about it? Talk to them a bit, ok? …..At least get a few bucks to pay for those Cuban cigars, huh?

Bernie_and_Them_Chapter_Seven and  Bernie_and_Them_Chapter_Eight

If you click on the “older” at the bottom of the page of posting it will take you to the older postings. Somewhere back there you will find Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and six. I will add chapters 7 and 8 tonight. Or just click on the downloads over on the right and all chapter are there… Hope you enjoy them. You can tell that I’m just an Old Kid at heart….

Well, last report was the snow amounts at the various ski resorts…Well, nix all that..I do not know all the totals but the Sandia Ski area got 20 inches…We got about three inches here at my house….Snow amounts varied ….Red River got about 16 inches…So you skiers from across the nation, New Mexico and Colorado resorts are ready for you…A couple of more storms may be headed this way….Lots of snow….Come on out this way and play in the snow…